A skateboarder knows the best trick of all: Not falling (Connecting Alabama)

HOMEWOOD, Alabama – I caught the jump, twist and crash out of
the corner of my right eye. Turning my head from Central Avenue back toward
Homewood Central Park I could see the skateboarder sprawled on the painted red
concrete of the old skate park.

Why do they do that? It was an internal question. And one I wanted
to answer. So I stopped the car and
walked back toward the park just in time to see the kid do it again and with
the same painful result.

Ross Pruet, that's the guy, lay still on the painted concrete.
The red made it hard to see if there was any blood from the hard fall. Turned
out there wasn't. But there was pain. Pruet, 23, moaned as he rolled over and
got up nursing the elbow and arm that had taken the brunt of the latest fall.

"Why do you do it?" I asked, startling Pruet who looked a
little puzzled at the question. "Why do you do it knowing you're going to
sometimes fall?"

Pruet, drenched in sweat, it was a warm early fall day, considered
the question. Then a smile broke across his bearded face.

"Well, I guess because I love it," said Pruet. "...I've been
doing it since I was a little kid and being on the board is, I don't know, a
kind of freedom."

And falling? I pressed.

"I don't love that," Pruet said, smiling again. "But what's
that saying about freedom isn't free. Falling is part of the price you pay, I
guess."

But why do it in 90-degree heat?

"It's hot but I like having the place to myself," Pruet
said. "I like people and I know a lot of skaters but I like the isolation when
I'm out here alone. It's just me and the board. I block out the cars going by,
block out the walkers and just focus on the next move, the next trick. It
clears my thoughts of whatever I might be worrying about. And, besides, it's fun."

Now just painted concrete, the spot five years ago was
filled with various kinds of ramps and rails that challenged skateboarders and
they came in droves to take those challenges, including Pruet. But also the
spot attracted others who were apparently not interested in skateboarding.

"It was a cool place," said Pruet of the park. Asked why
Homewood officials dismantled the park, Pruet shook his head.

"I guess because outsiders started coming in and there was a
lot of talk about drugs being sold, some fights happened including one between
a cop and a guy. It scared some people, the older people, and before you knew
it they shut it down."

Looking at the old guy talking to him, Pruet said "older
people" misunderstand skaters.

"I guess because skating is not a sport they grew up with,
it's not football , adults don't understand it and if you have cases where the
wrong kinds of people hang around it, well people get scared."

Pruet does not have a job. But he wants one. He lives with
his parents. I must have made a face.

"I know, I know," said Pruet. "I want to work, but man this
economy, jobs are just hard to find. I know people keep saying it's getting
better but I'm not sure."

Pruet has lived in Alabama all his life. He said he can't
imagine living anywhere else.

"I love it," Pruet said of the state. "I think most of the
people are nice and it's really pretty. I like to camp and hike and Alabama has
so many places for you do to that, to get away and be, you know, free."

As Pruet walked out of the shade and returned to his board I
asked what was his best move or trick.

"Not falling," he said smiling as he pushed off, gaining
speed and this time landed his best trick.

Chuck Dean is connecting Alabama through the stories told by its people -- sometimes about themselves, sometimes about their neighbors, sometimes about the places they call home.

Share your stories, or introduce us to people we should connect with. Reach out on Facebook, Twitter or Instagram using #connectAL, email cdean@al.com or send Chuck a note at 2201 Fourth Ave. N, Birmingham AL 35203.